Blood and Jazz

Notes from the Dvirhim Revolution

Magic

“Magic” refers to the collection of mysterious forces responsible for magical phenomena, i.e. phenomena that fail to conform to the “mundane” model of physics that holds in the vast majority of cases. Traditionally, magical phenomena have been identified as such by observing their presence with spells such as detect magic or arcane sight, by their absence induced by abjurations such as the magic-cancelling waves of an antimagic field or dispel, or by their absence within magical voids such as the Eye of the Outlands; however, certain apparently-magical phenomena persist even in some of these harsh environments and/or appear mundane to detect magic. This has caused a great deal of controversy within the modern scientific community, producing a rift between those who adhere to the magical/mundane binary and seek materialist explanations for the discrepancies, and those who believe the entire magical/mundane model is outdated and in need of replacement by a unified theory capable of explaining all such phenomena as the products of a few simple and universal fundamental forces.

Some examples of apparently magical phenomena that persist in magic-hostile environments include:

Spells of High Caster Grade—resistant to dispelling, though theoretically a sufficiently powerful dispel will still cancel one

Magic Artifacts—have never been successfully dispelled, nor affected by antimagic; disjoining works only when cast by particularly potent spellcasters

Products of Some Conjurations—the water produced by the spell create water, for example, is equivalent to mundane water by all tests that have been applied to it including detect magic; it is completely unaffected by all forms of antimagic and by magical void

A Lich’s Touch—induces paralysis in victims that has never been successfully removed with a dispel, but antimagic fields and disjoining are effective

Arcane Marks—have never been successfully removed with a dispel, but antimagic fields and disjoining are effective

An Eladrin’s Shapeshifting—eladrin have two forms and can shift between the two, but cannot be forced into either of them by antimagic or magical void, and the spell true seeing reveals both forms blurred together

Wall of Force/Forcecage/Prismatic Wall/Prismatic Sphere—have never been successfully dispelled, nor affected by antimagic; however disjoining is extremely effective, apparently independent of spellcaster power

Dragon Flight—in many cases appears impossible due to weight / wing size ratio, yet registers as mundane to detect magic and persists after dispelling, disjoining, and exposure to magical voids and antimagic fields